Zapu hails Matabeleland Chiefs for standing firm on Ndebele King

THE Dumiso Dabengwa-led Zapu party has hailed traditional leaders in Matabeleland for standing firm in support of the planned coronation of King Lobengula’s heir, which was stopped at the last minute by both the government and the High Court last week.

BY NQOBANI NDLOVU/TALENT GUMPO

Local Government minister July Moyo last Wednesday ordered the ban on the coronation of Colin Bulelani Khumalo, as King Lobengula’s heir saying the event was unconstitutional.

Justice Martin Makonese on Friday also stopped the coronation following an urgent High Court chamber application by the crown council.

Matabeleland chiefs condemned the ban, arguing the coronation was a cultural event, which had nothing to do with the country’s politics.

“The unity of purpose displayed by the chiefs in the face of a paranoid repressive regime blocking the event over the weekend was demonstration of astute and resolute leadership.

“Zapu, as believers in people’s power, stand firm behind the chiefs and are supportive of their brave stance against the repressive Zimbabwean establishment that is prepared to disregard the Constitution and international statutes on human rights in order to push a hegemonic system that violates rights of citizens,” Zapu spokesperson, Iphithule Maphosa, said yesterday.

Police last week fought running battles with Bulawayo residents and activists, who thronged the High Court awaiting Makonese’s judgment and at Babourfields — venue of the coronation.

Lobengula was the last Ndebele king, following the annihilation of the Ndebele Kingdom in 1893 by the British Pioneer Column led by Cecil John Rhodes.

“How the country’s courts endorsed the November coup and deny coronation of a Ndebele Crown Prince beats the legal mind, especially considering the constitutionality around the Ndebele monarchy and its historical connotations,” Maphosa said.

“Failure to interpret the law and Constitution leading to the weird High Court provisional order over the matter is testimony that the Zanu PF system is so hell bent on perpetuating its evil on the people even in areas the Constitution seeks to protect them.”

Maphosa said the court’s decision smacks of hypocrisy

Meanwhile, development analyst, Nkululeko Ndlovu has urged Zimbabweans not to politicise the coronation, saying it is a tradition, commonly practised in many African countries.

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But its Govt that did the banning of the Coronation in the first place arguing unConstitutionality; long before the Court case. How do you argue unConstitutionality when you yourself as a Govt have violated the Constitution in not implementing the Devolution Clause for five years? How do you argue unConstitutionality when you yourself have violated the Constitution by appointing Provincial Ministers who are not recognised by the Constitution? Double standard neeh? You cant run a succeesful modern economy through double standards. There has to be consistency in everything you do. You dont use the Constitution only when it suits you!

The coronation is our brothers’s culture , why banned it , this shows and expose that the Zanu PF system is still alive ,ED is Mugabe , we need to kill it for good . Zanu PF doesn’t believe in people they believe in Zanu PF , hats off to our new King Lobengula and the team . am a Shona tribe but I believe in our different cultures , they banned the process but they now know that KING LOBENGURA is there .

You are confused – what civilisation? Is the UK not civilised with its Queen Elizabeth? How about Sweden and or Japan? Would you call these countries backward? These are highly civilised developed countries far far better than your primitive stone age Zimbabwe. Please give us a break. You are just self-centred and tribalistic, thats all. Nobody said our King will rule Zimbabwe. If you dont understand what cultural means then dont get involved!

I agree and totally salute ZAPU on this one. Zimbabwe must learn to respect each other’s linguistic and cultural differences. No nation has ever progressed through straight jacketing every citizen. I have always wondered what exactly is wrong with some Shona people? They are scared of things that are seen as quite normal and common in many African countries, if not the whole world, I wonder why. I just dont understand the Shona psyche – these people must be from outer space somewhere for sure. Their arguments are unintelligent, irrational and dont even hold any water – interference in what doesnt concern them is what they specialise in. They have strange cultures of grabbing wealth, properties from widows of their late sons as in Elizabeth Tswangirayi’s case, no Ndebele interferes or even queries this. They have this thing of not marrying in the “wrong” season, among so many strange cultural beliefs we Ndebele people dont even understand – but no Ndebele bothers themselves with their cultures. They have strange surnames as in Tamborinyoka derived from Ndebele’s Thambolenyoka or Bhaskiti, Marara, Murambadoro etc – Ndebele people dont understand how these surnames come about, but we are never bothered and never interfer. But when it comes to anything to do with the Ndebele culturally – Shonas are always there to interfer, if not to attempt to destroy everything. If they cant destroy, they ridicule and make fun of other cultures. What exactly is wrong with these people – why cant they keep away from other people’s business? Its beyond the incredulous really!

Comment..Ndebele,is it a language or a tribe?If its a tribe..which original Nguni clans apart from the Khumalos a part of the so called Ndebeles.?We are not blind.Harbouring a need secessionist agenda behind a false coronation of the “Ndebele” king is a dangerous detonater of strife.Which part of Munhumtapa empire…Mbire,Uteve,Torwa,Madanda ,Guruuswa,Tava,Mapungubwe,do they claim as theirs?

The truth of the matter is that, if you dont know a people’s language, you would not understand or know their cultures. Because language is erived from a people’s cultural identity. That is the bottom line. Most Shona people dont know siNdebele. It therefore follows that, they is no ways they would understand the Ndebele cultures. That is why they are confused about the matter of the Ndebele Kingship. They are politicising it and conflating it with issues of secession and geographic space in the form of land as to who owned what. Utter confusion. Most of them cant even make out the difference between Matebeleland Ndebele, South African Ndebele, Swati, Xhosa and isiZulu. Yet, they are always interfering, commenting and drawing wrong and misleading conclusions on the Ndebele people and their cultures. And the majority of them are so wide off them mark – its laughable!!

Matebeleland is part of Khoisan land; and this is where out Kingdom was in the past. Your Mbiri, Munumutapa belongs to Burundi – not here in the Southern African lands of the Khoisan people. Stolen land remains stolen land – it doesnt matter how long you had kept it before it was invaded and taken away from you. You Shona people, the invaders of the Khopisan people were invaded by the more powerful Nguni people from the South and lost out. Accept it and move on with your lives – stop reinventing history to suit your tribal agendas. Stop day dreaming; your ZANU history and tribal upbringing is confusing you!

it started with Mugabe’s insecurity. He was insecure that Nkomo would take power from him that’s why he did all those things next to madness.Mugabe was a coward and anything that looked like a threat to him had to be crushed. That why he dealt harshly with our Bantu brothers from Matabeleland and ZAPU. It’s the same reason that opposing parties have been treated severely.

We need to integrate Zimbabwe like Nyerere did Tanzania, not this business of Hutus and Tsutsis fighting each other. If we could heal from past ZanuPF atrocities and all, we’d be a great nation. remember Ubuntu

Lobengula was from south africa why can’t you go and do you things where you belong
Mzilikazi found mambo at kami and asked for a place to hide since he was running away with the loot he stole from tshaka You don’t have any land here and some of you you are grandson and daughters of karanga / shona people who were kidnapped by lobengula its only good to you when it is Lobengula.